Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.12 and last traded at $4.0550, with a volume of 2751745 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $858.65 million, a P/E ratio of 202.85 and a beta of -0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.27.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $40.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.89 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 0.39% and a net margin of 1.12%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NAT. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after buying an additional 1,263,228 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 168.4% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,761,198 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,929 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited is a Bermuda-based shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company’s fleet is employed on the spot and period charter markets, transporting crude oil across major global trade routes. By focusing on commercially flexible employment strategies, Nordic American Tankers seeks to optimize vessel utilization and generate stable income for shareholders.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers maintains technical and commercial management arrangements through established ship-management partners.